Vacationing in Ocho Rios Jamaica
I had another opportunity to go on vacation which was to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The vacation started off bad, as my American Airlines red eye flight was delayed by an hour and I was stuck at LAX. When I finally reached Miami, I had to run to my connecting flight to catch the plane to Jamaica. I literally had fifteen minutes, but I made it. When I reached Jamaica, of course my luggage wasn’t there, but the customer service representative (at Montego Bay Airport) was very helpful and stated that my luggage will arrive at my hotel that evening. The drive from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios seemed like it took a century, but it was only two and a half hours. The scenery from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios was shocking. One corner, there were these amazing mansions, the next corner there were these small one bedroom un-keep houses and they all surrounded the beach. During my long ride (on a two lane highway) to the resort, I saw goats and chickens in the road; I was wondering is this the country? Nevertheless, I reached my resort, Jewel Duns River and the bellman was like where’s your luggage? Good question (I said sarcastically; hey I just go off of a long bus ride and was in need of an adult beverage-don’t hold it against me).
Jewel Duns River was a beautiful resort, as I entered the facility (which had no doors by the way); I was greeted with cold towels, and a drink, which was just what I needed-considering the circumstances. My room was ready and I had an ocean view. The receptionist also said my room came with the concierge and they would check on my luggage and bring it to my room. My concierge was Trent Lee, a handsome and helpful young man. It was at least 100 degrees and I desperately wanted to get in the pool. Well I couldn’t, so I settled for food and drinks. I noticed in Jamaica that everyone lets it hang out-big, small, short and tall- the swimsuits and trunks left little to the imagination, but after a few drinks, you really don’t notice at all. The food at the resort was decent, they had five restaurants (Pizza, Bar and Grill, Italian, Japanese, and a Buffet) plus two swim up bars and three regular bars. The Japanese restaurant was like Benihannas- which I enjoyed the food and ambiance (you have to make reservations-and Trent-lee fulfilled my request). The beach (water was warm) was amazing, workers graciously fixed you chair so you can lie down and relax and would bring you a drink (well maybe it was just me-because other resort goers had to get up and get their own). I spent the majority of my five (5) days at the beach or at the pool, where I got terribly sunburned and had to go to the spa for relief (an Aloe Cooler). The therapist that helped me get relief on my back was Charmelon, she was nice and had compassion toward my pain-so if you ever go to Jewel Duns River and get sunburn-the Aloe Cooler works magic.
Well- its back to reality and back to work-here are a few tips when traveling to Jamaica (1) tip the service workers (they don’t make a lot of money), plus tipping you will get better service (2) if you don’t have kids, stay at an adult only resort-more relaxing, (3) don’t take it personally when the security from your resort ask where you are going, and when will you return-you have to check back in (it’s a safety issue) and (4) get the hotel to get you a cab when you go off the resort, and always get a round trip.
Well my darlings…Stay tuned until my next vacation… Any suggestions?
Monica G.
Awesome blog!!! Really cool! I want to visit Jamaica!!!!